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XCode 4 available for free to developers ($4.99 everyone else)

Apple has made the latest version of its integrated development environment available for free to developers. Everyone else can download it from the Mac App Store for $4.99 (£2.99).

Xcode provides everything a you need to to create great Mac OS X and iOS apps. The latest version is Xcode 4 and presents a unified user interface design, for all your coding, testing, and debugging within a single window. The Xcode IDE analyzes the details of your project to identify mistakes in both syntax and logic, it can even help fix your code for you.

Features:

Innovative tools to help you create great apps

– Interface Builder is fully integrated as a design canvas within the Xcode IDE
– The Assistant shows files related to what you’re editing, such as the header, superclass, or controller
– The Version editor shows a live source code comparison through Git or Subversion history
– Live Issues display errors as you type, and Fix-it can correct the mistakes for you
– Apple LLVM compiler now includes full support for C++, in addition to C and Objective-C
– The new LLDB debugging engine is faster and more memory-efficient than GDB
– Instruments adds System Trace and new iOS instruments including OpenGL ES

Streamlined interface that is faster and easier to use

– Design your interface side by side with the backing source code
– Create connections from your GUI design directly to the related source code
– Use tabs to organize your workspace, or double-click to open files in a new window
– Schemes let you customize exactly how your app will build, run, profile, and deploy
– Debugging and console views slide in without disturbing your place in the editor

Professional editor keeps you focused on your code

– Click the Jump Bar at the top of the editor to instantly go to another file
– View message bubbles to see errors, warnings, and other issues right beside the code
– Use the ribbon on the left of the editor to fold your code, or highlight scope

Embedded Apple LLVM technology finds and fixes bugs for you

– Analyzer travels countless code paths looking for logical errors before they become bugs
– Live Issues underlines coding mistakes as you type with no need to build first
– Fix-it can confidently correct mistakes for you with just a keystroke
– Code completion for C, C++, and Objective-C is incredibly fast and accurate

Instruments for visual performance analysis

– Compare CPU, disk, memory, and OpenGL performance as graphical tracks over time
– Identify performance bottlenecks then dive deep into the code to uncover the cause
– Monitor your app directly, or sample the entire system, with very little overhead

To test or deploy applications on an iOS device you must be a member of Apple’s iOS Developer Program. To submit your Mac or iOS apps to the App Store you must be a member of the Mac or iOS Developer Program. Some features may require Internet access.